Times have changed and the tanners have moved away, but one leather worker still has his workshop there. René Jacobs makes leather goods with a quality leather that equals the likes of Hermès bags and Gucci wallets. We have already worked with René, he has made leather writing maps that we gave to our dealers some years ago as a gift, and he makes the leather handles for the Takk (our stove poker). Now we’re onto a new project.
We’re making a bag for carrying wood, a special Harrie Leenders carrier made from sturdy, honest materials. A good looking addition to our fireplaces. That’s enough marketing for now, what’s more important is the process of making it, which is wonderful. René’s workshop has all these great machines for sewing leather, thinning the hides and presses for flattening and pressing logos into the material. He’s a real craftsman who literally can’t stop talking about his work.
Our bag is not going to be completely made out of leather though, we’re using a special kind of felt that’s 100% made from recycled pet-bottles. It works great combined with leather and filled up with wood.